Dave Roberts made a decision in the best interest of the Dodgers’ World Series chances, and fans are still debating whether he did the right thing.

Ah, seriously?

Some of these same fans, logic tells us, also must be the ones annually lamenting the fact the Dodgers haven’t won baseball’s championship in nearly three decades.

Folks, make up your mind. Do you care about the Dodger or the Dodgers?

Mayflies have a life expectancy of only 24 hours, and even they think leaving Rich Hill in that game Saturday would have been foolishly shortsighted.

The Dodgers manager did exactly, completely and undeniably the right thing in Miami, removing Hill even though the left-hander hadn’t allowed a baserunner through seven innings.

And, even if Roberts was (as one popular theory suggests) only following the orders of his heavy-handed bosses – the manager nothing more than a puppet in polyester stretch pants – big deal. It was still the absolute right decision.

Sure, Hill was just six outs from making history with the 24th perfect game. The only Dodger with a perfect game is Sandy Koufax, and baseball names don’t get any more historic than that.

But, as manager of the team with the sport’s highest payroll and the expectations that sort of money also buys, the history Roberts is beholden to above all else is World Series history.

Leveraging even a sliver of the Dodgers’ postseason chances this late in the year for the sake of possible individual glory would have been wholly unnecessary, irresponsible and, to use a technical baseball term, wacko.

What’s more, it could have torpedoed everything Roberts, in his first season remember, has worked to establish to this point in a clubhouse that, also don’t forget, hasn’t always sung in harmony the past few seasons.

The day he was publicly introduced by the Dodgers barely 10 months ago, Roberts noted that he “believes in accountability,” adding, “When I see people who don’t buy into the team, it frustrates me.”

Risking a reoccurrence of the blister condition that already has cost Hill five weeks of this season would have been putting player before team, Roberts correctly noting the decision could have cost him “credibility” in the clubhouse.

If you don’t believe trust matters in that room, consider that Roberts talked to a handful of the Dodgers veterans before the team brought back Yasiel Puig this month, the manager mindful of potentially disrupting what clearly and somewhat inexplicably continues to work for this unlikely first-place bunch.

As passionate as some of the reaction has been to Roberts’ decision, imagine the response if a manager – any manager – admitted he did something for the good of the individual at the possible expense of the team.

Even the fourth-place San Diego Padres manager would be broiled for such an admission right now, and almost nobody even knows that guy’s name.

This is mid-September of a pennant race. Let the Minnesota Twins use the season’s final week to chase individual milestones, if they chose.

Under traditional circumstances for contenders, winning is still all that matters. Roberts was hired to win, not facilitate ways for Dodgers players to appear on ESPN Classic.

Of course, lifting Hill was difficult. Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt called it “gut-wrenching,” and he wasn’t even talking about the decision. He was talking instead about having to watch Roberts make the decision.

Hill stomped around, slammed a bat and swore, and that’s exactly how he should have reacted. Afterward, though clearly still steamed, he admitted, “I get it,” and that’s exactly how he should have responded.

Here’s someone who was throwing pitches in an independent league last August. Now, going back to the end of his first start with the Dodgers, Hill has given up one hit to the past 50 batters he has faced.

During that stretch, he also has walked two, but, in case you’re not aware, an opponents’ batting average of .021 (1 for 48) is pretty impressive.

This is particularly true when recalling Hill’s time – albeit as brief as a commercial break – with the Angels.

He spent 10 days during the 2014 season as an Angel and genuinely ranks as one of the worst pitchers in franchise history. Hill’s all-time Angel ERA is so bad that it can’t even be expressed numerically.

In two games, he faced four batters, giving up a hit to one and walking the other three. One of the four eventually scored, leaving Hill with an official Angels ERA of infinity.

Today, given Clayton Kershaw’s rebounding status, Hill is the reigning ace of the National League West’s leaders.

And some people think Roberts should have risked losing him in exchange for a shot at personal history?

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